In 1616 the cleric Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594-1651) had to
flee from Tibet.
At that time Bhutan was split up into small principalities which were
largely independent.
Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel united the autonomous principalities
for the first time into a theocratical state. Due to his skillful policy
of alliances, his charisma as a lama, but also because of his supreme
military strategy he gained unrestricted power.
Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel incorporated one region after the other
into a realm administrated in writing and laid the foundations for
the creation of the Bhutanese society.
Many of the things created by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel still
determine the national identity of the Bhutanese.
He created a legal system which ruled the lives of all the people of
Bhutan and which was still in effect until the recent past.
Monastic rituals dating back to the founder of the state still protect
the country to this very day.
His tutelary deity Mahakala is also the tutelary deity of the modern
monarchy.
The Drukpa-Kagyupa school of Buddhism which he belonged to is the
state religion.
After his death in 1651 he returned in many reincarnations.
Nevertheless soon after his death the country lacked a charismatic
personality at its helm. Many regional leaders reached for central
power, and the country was ravaged by civil wars.